US3140500A

US3140500A - Floats for spreading concrete or the like

Info

Publication number: US3140500A
Application number: US276765A
Authority: US
Inventors: Pilla Anthony
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-04-30
Filing date: 1963-04-30
Publication date: 1964-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 1981-07-14

Description

July 14, 1964 A. PILLA 3,140,500

FEoATs EOE SPREADING CONCRETE 0E THE LIKE Filed April so, 1963 2 Sheets-sheet 1 'ggffu/ 0000000 00000000 @000000000 000000000 0000000000 000000000 0004000000000 3 0000000 0 f 0000000 0 l 0/00,0

.000NU y BY ZA 2 July 14, 1964 A. PlLLA 3,140,500

FLOATS FOR SPREADING CONCRETE OR THE LIKE Filed April 30, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @4. v H7 Z O OO OO O` O o O o 0100 0 0 0 0 0 0000 0 00000000000000000300 00010010330 ff ogclooomo f5 o 0.o y f o@ 0o 0 oo loo oooo oo dooo Pico@ 0o oo OOO O O INV ENTOR.

FIM

United States Patent O vice 3,140,500 FLOATS FOR SPREADING CONCRETE R THE LIKE Anthony Pilla, 474 Jacksonville Road, Hatboro, Pa. Filed Apr. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 276,765 2 Claims. (Cl. 15235.4)

This invention relates to tools for Working concrete, plaster and like material, and more particularly to a oat for spreading the material and forming a smooth surface thereon.

Various forms of iioats have been proposed for working concrete, for example, to spread it along a walk, along floors of swimming pools and other excavations in the ground, for lining walls of such excavations or of embankments, etc. The most commonly used ioats are made with a wooden base or working block having a continuous surface which the operator lays against the concrete to spread and surface the same as he manipulates the block back and forth. Such wooden blocks wear out very quickly, often wearing away to `the point of being useless after but a single days use. A wooden float that lasts as much as three days is considered in the trade as having had a long, useful life. Moreover, because of the granular nature of Wood, the smooth working surface of a wooden block quickly becomes rough and irregular under the abrasive action of concrete, and it therefore becomes difficult to finish off the concrete with a good, smooth surface when using a iioat with such a block.

To overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of wooden block oats, it has been proposed tomake the blocks out of metal, such as steel. However, metal block floats are much heavier than wooden block floats, and they tire the workers using them much more rapidly than do wooden block floats. Moreover, the cost of metal block oats is much greater than that of wooden block oats, and in many cases without a comparable increase in life. In addition, the improvement in surface quality of the concrete linished with metal block floats having initially smooth, continuous working surfaces has not been considered suflicient in the trade to justify the additional cost. This is especially true when it is considered that workers using metal block floats necessarily slow down considerably in performance because of the heavier floats which they must handle when using metal block iioats.

The primary object of my invention is to provide improved oats having a base or working block that is not subject to the aforementioned disadvantages of Wooden and metal blocks.

More particularly, it is an object of my invention to provide, in lioats useful for the purposes set forth, novel base blocks that will have a long, useful life.

Another object of my invention is to provide improved iioats which are relatively light in weight, which can be manipulated by workers with ease, and which will not unduly tire workers over extended periods of use.

Still another object of my invention is to provide improved oats are aforesaid which can be used not only to effectively spread concrete, plaster or the like over a support and provide a relatively rough or coarse surface for the same, but which can also be used thereafter to impart to the surface a smooth finish.

A further object of my invention is to provide improved floats as above set forth which can be fabricated easily, and which are inexpensive in cost, especially when considered in the light of their vastly increased life expectancy compared to the life of previously known floats.

It is also an object of my invention to provide improved floats as aforesaid which are highly eliicient in use, and which require a minimum of care and attention to keep them in good working condition.

3,140,500 Patented July 14, 1964 In accordance with the present invention, I form the float blocks out of acrylic resins such as those marketed by Rohm & Haas Co., of Philadelphia, Pa., under the trade name Plexiglas, or those marketed by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., of Wilmington, Delaware, under the trade name Lucite These materials are solid, rigid forms of polymethacrylates which are hard and tough, which are resistant to heat, Weather, abrasion and crazing, and which are chemically resistant to commonly used solvents and oils; yet they can be machined, cut, drilled and otherwise worked mechanically to desired form. I have found that the foregoing characteristics of the indicated materials make them admirably suited for use as float base blocks of the type mentioned above. Float base blocks made of these materials have approximately the same weight per unit volume as do wooden floats normally used in the trade and therefore impose no additional Weight burden on workers using them.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, I provide, in the working surfaces of these oat base blocks, a plurality of depressions, preferably in the form of regularly occurring grooves or channels at spaced points thereover, such depressions preferably being formed with sharp edges or corners. These grooves or channels provide, over the working surfaces of the blocks, a plurality of working elements which are highly effective in spreading the coating material (i.e., concrete, plaster, or the like) uniformly over the surface to which the material is applied. In some instances, the coating material surface provided by such float blocks may be relatively coarse. According to another feature of the invention, one or more of the peripheral edges of the block may be beveled or rounded and used to finish oif the coating material surface with a relatively fine, smooth surface.

The novel features of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will be more readily apparent from the following description, when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is a perspective view of one form of float according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the float of FIG. 1 and showing one embodiment of the working surface of .the base block thereof,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional View taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and viewed in the direction of the appended arrows,

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing another embodiment of the base block,

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4 and viewed in the direction of the appended arrows,

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, sectional view similar to FIG. 5 but showing a somewhat modified form of the base block of FIGS. 4 and 5, and

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 4 but showing still another embodiment of the base block.

Referring more particularly first to FIGS. 1 3, there is shown a iioat 1 having a base block 3 to the upper surface of which a handle 5 is secured in any suitable manner, as by bolts and nuts 7. The base block is made of a hard synthetic material of approximately the same density as the wood used heretofore for such blocks, but which is not subject to the rapid wear and distortion of wood. Preferably, the base block 3 is made of a hard, rigid polymethacrylate resin such as Plexiglas or Lucite, both identified hereinbefore as to characteristics which, I have found, make them admirably suitable materials from the standpoints of wear, long life and efiiciency.

The block 3 is formed with a plurality of discrete depression 9 which extend into the body of the block from,

and are distributed regularly about, the working surface thereof (i.e., the surface which engages the coating material to be spread by the float). In the form shown in FIGS. l to 3, these depressions comprise a plurality of grooves or channels which extend into the block a distance short of the thickness thereof and which intersect each other to provide a plurality of discrete working elements 11. The block, itself, is preferably made of 1/2 inch stock and may be about 111/2 inches long and about 45/8 inches wide. This provides a block comparable in weight to conventional Wooden block floats with which workers are familiar and to which they are accustomed. The grooves or channels 9 may be from 1A; inch to 1A inch in depth. In the form shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the channels 9 comprise two sets of regularly spaced, parallel grooves which intersect or cross each other and which are angularly related so as to provide diamondshaped working elements 11. Other shapes of working elements are, of course, possible, depending on the shapes of the channels and how the channels 9 are related to each other. In any case, the channels 9 are cut to provide sharp, peripheral edges for each of the working elements 11. Thus, as the oat is moved over the surface of the concrete or the like, these sharp edges act somewhat in the manner of a spatula in spreading the concrete evenly. This is further enhanced by reason of the fact that the sharp, peripheral edges of each of the diamond-shaped working elements 11 extend in dilicerent directions so that they cut the concrete at various angles as the oat is moved thereover.

In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the depressions are a plurality of holes 13 which are distributed regularly over the entire working surface of the block 3 and preferably extend thereinto from the working surface thereof a distance short of the thickness of the block. As in the case of the channels 9, the peripheral edges of the holes 13 are made sharp at the working surface of the block. The holes 13 may be circular, as shown in FIG. 4, or they may be in the form of ovals or in any other arcuate form so that their sharp, peripheral edges will extend in different directions at different portions thereof.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the working surface of the block 3 in which the holes 13 are formed does not extend to the peripheral edge of the block but is surrounded or bounded by a marginal area 15 inwardly of the block periphery. This marginal area is beveled either along a plane, as in FIGS. 4 and 5, or along a transverse curve or arc, as in FIG. 6, to provide smooth, marginal finishing areas. Thus, a worker can use the working surface of the block having the holes 13 or other depressions thereover to initially spread the concrete or plaster and provide a relatively rough or course surface therefor. He can then finish off the surface to a relatively smooth or ne finish with one or another of the smooth, marginal areas.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the depressions in the working surface of the block 3 comprise a plurality of regularly occurring, intertwined or intersecting annular channels 17. These channels may be of circular, elliptical, or any other suitable form, and they are, again, formed with sharp edges at the working surface of the block. The channels 17 extend into the block a distance short of the thickness thereof, and within the contines of each of the circular channels is at least one discrete, relatively large working element 19. In the case of certain of the arcuate channels, there are also additional, smaller working elements 21 of generally elliptical shape. If desired, the larger elements 19 may be provided with holes 23 similar to the holes 13. As in the case of the previously described embodiments, the edges of all of the working

elements

19 and 21 and at the holes 23 extend in various directions and are made sharp to enhance operation of the float.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there have been provided improved floats which will have a long life, which can be manipulated by a Worker as easily as conventional wooden block oats, and which are highly eliicient in use. After a period of use, if the various groove, channel or hole edges should become dull, the edges can be resharpened easily, as by regrooving. This, plus the properties of the materials out of which the blocks are made, insures a greatly extended useful life for them. Whereas oats having wooden blocks, as in the prior art, generally have a useful life of from one to three days, blocks according to the present invention will be found to have a useful life of up to six months or so under similar conditions of use.

Although several embodiments of the improved oats have been described, it will undoubtedly be apparent to those skilled in the art that Various other forms thereof, as well as other materials for the blocks, all coming within the spirit of the present invention, are possible. For example, the blocks may be made of other hard, durable synthetic resins, such as Bakelite and Nylon. Also, the forms shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIG. 7 may be made with beveled, marginal, smooth, nishing areas, if desired. Moreover, other forms of channels and finishing, marginal edges may be provided. These and other variations, all coming within the spirit of my invention, are possible. Hence, I desire that the foregoing shall be construed merely as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

1. A oat comprising a base block of hard, rigid, polymethacrylate resin and having a working surface formed with two sets of regularly spaced, parallel grooves therein, the grooves of one of said sets being angularly related to the grooves of the other of said sets and intersecting said grooves of said other set to provide a plurality of working elements throughout said surface, the angular relation of said two sets of grooves being such that said working elements are diamond-shaped, and said elements having sharp edges at said surface along said grooves.

2. A float according to claim 1 wherein said base block has a smooth marginal area which is beveled relative to said working surface.

References Cited in the lile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 312,225 Sutton Feb. 10, 1885 405,396 Conrad et al June 18, 1889 1,071,758 Labelle Sept. 2, 1913 2,051,199 Christianson Aug. 18, 1936 2,410,343 Haivala Oct. 29, 1946 2,746,367 Ferguson May 22, 1956 2,757,491 Galey Aug. 7, 1956 2,907,146 Dyar Oct. 6, 1959 3,029,459 Pruitt Apr. 17, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 5,648 Great Britain Apr. 14, 1915

Claims

1. A FLOAT COMPRISING A BASE BLOCK OF HARD, RIGID, POLYMETHACRYLATE RESIN AND HAVING A WORKING SURFACE FORMED WITH TWO SETS OF REGULARLY SPACED, PARALLEL GROOVES THEREIN, THE GROOVES OF ONE OF SAID SETS BEING ANGULARLY RELTATED TO THE GROOVES OF THE OTHER OF SAID SETS AND INTERSECTING SAID GROOVES OF SAID OTHER SET TO PROVIDE A PLURALITY OF WORKING ELEMENTS THROUGHOUT SAID SURFACE, THE ANGULAR RELATION OF SAID TWO SETS OF GROOVES BEING SUCH THAT SAID WORKING ELEMENT ARE DIAMOND-SHAPED, AND SAID ELEMENTS HAVING SHARP EDGES AT SAID SURFACE ALONG SAID GROOVES.